Does Mr. Trump have a plan to expand American territory?

Sheet New York Post On December 24, citing sources close to US President-elect Donald Trump, he said he was “100% serious” about wanting to annex Greenland and the Panama Canal into US territory. Before taking office for his second term, he repeatedly mentioned territorial expansion, while analysts said that there may be plans he will actually seek to implement.

Multiple goals

When announcing the nomination of former US Ambassador to Sweden Ken Howery to be ambassador to Denmark on December 22, Mr. Trump reiterated his intention in 2019 to acquire Greenland, an island that is an autonomous territory of Denmark. The circuit lies close to eastern Canada and the United States.

“For national security and freedom in the world, the United States finds it absolutely necessary to own and control Greenland,” Mr. Trump wrote on social networks. The information caused Greenland government leader Mute Egede to quickly react. “Greenland is ours. We are not for sale and never will be,” he said. The office of Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen also confirmed Mr. Egede’s view.

Previously, on December 21, Mr. Trump accused Panama of unfairly charging high fees to US ships and threatened to regain control of the Panama Canal, according to Reuters.

“We are being exploited at the Panama Canal as elsewhere. It was given to Panama with conditions. If the principles, both moral and legal, of this noble gesture are not followed, we We will reclaim the Panama Canal completely, quickly and without questions,” Mr. Trump said.

Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino later said that the country’s independence was non-negotiable and that no country could influence the management of the canal. According to the sheet PoliticoAmerica helped Panama gain independence from Colombia in the early 20th century to build the Panama Canal connecting the Pacific Ocean with the Atlantic Ocean. The United States agreed to return control of the canal to Panama in 1999, but retained the right to intervene militarily to ensure the neutrality of the canal.

In addition, Mr. Trump also suggested that Canada should become the 51st state of the US and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as governor, during a meeting between the two on the evening of November 29 in Florida (USA). Canadian Green Party leader Elizabeth May later said that Mr. Trump’s “joke” was “not funny at all.”

True intention

According to the sheet The SunMr. Trump’s above statements are extremely rare when it comes to promoting a sovereign country to hand over territory, and at the same time represent a change in the upcoming US foreign policy. CNN commented that his statements are sometimes the opening words for negotiation efforts. Meanwhile, an anonymous adviser to Mr. Trump said “trade is his top concern,” so pressuring Panama to reduce fees could offset expected price increases in the United States for those products. imported goods that Mr. Trump wants to increase taxes on.

Regarding the Greenland issue, Fox News believes that it is likely that the US will participate in a huge land purchase within the next 4 years. A former official who worked under Mr. Trump’s first term commented that this was not excessive because the United States bought Alaska from Russia in 1867 for 7.2 million USD. “Everyone thought it was crazy, and then it wasn’t,” the official said, mentioning that the purchase of Alaska was criticized before understanding its strategic and resource value.

Meanwhile, on the issue of Canada, sheet New York Post citing sources, Mr. Trump only meant to blame the trade deficit when he said that the country should become the 51st state of the US.